CITY ON THE HOOK FOR MORE METHADONE MONEY

Downtown Clinic Awarded $43,500 In Legal Costs

OSHAWA - The City has been ordered to reimburse a methadone clinic
$43,500 for costs incurred during its legal battle with local
councillors to stay in downtown Oshawa.

The recent Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) decision came as a
disappointment for First Step Oshawa Clinic president Fred Lorusso,
who had asked for more than $150,000.

He argued it was fair compensation for costs the clinic incurred as a
result of "the unreasonable and/or bad faith process undertaken by the
City" in passing an interim control bylaw, which delayed the issuing
of a building permit.

The OMB found the City had acted unreasonably by passing an interim
control bylaw without any planning rationale, but not maliciously or
in bad faith. It awarded First Step $38,500 to reimburse it for its
legal costs in successfully challenging the City's interim control
bylaw on Aug. 26, 2002, plus another $6,000 in filing for the motion
for costs.

"This covers only about 20 per cent of what it has cost me, not to
mention the human costs and a year spent waiting in a too-small
facility," Mr. Lorusso said afterwards.

"But I really feel sorry for the citizens of Oshawa," he added.
"Myself, I may not live here, but I still pay taxes. The City has
spent $400,000 of their own money defending the interim control bylaw
and now will pay me another $43,500, all because of personal ambitions
and a lack of knowledge of what we really do."

The City and First Step have been at odds since the clinic, which
dispenses methadone, made plans in 2002 to move from its King Street
location, just outside the downtown core, to a larger location on
Simcoe Street in the heart of downtown.

Methadone is an opiate used to treat addiction to painkillers and
heroin.

City councillors complained the clinic would bring a bad element to
downtown and passed the interim control bylaw to prevent its move.
First Step appealed the bylaw and it was struck down by the OMB.

The clinic opened in November 2002 but the City continued to appeal
the OMB decision. Council's appeal was denied in January.

According to a staff report in September 2003, the fight has cost the
City close to $400,000 when factoring in staff time, OMB costs and a
$60,000 consultant study looking at methadone clinics in other
communities.

"I think it's time we put the whole methadone fight behind us and
emphasize the positive," said Mayor John Gray. "If the clinic
expresses the will to move then we will assist them but the fight has
been fought and we lost."

Councillor Louise Parkes defended the interim control bylaw, adding
council had real health and safety concerns about the clinic being in
downtown Oshawa.

"I think the fact we recently had a coroner's inquiry into
methadone-related deaths states we had a reason to be concerned," she
said.

But while she pointed to the more than 20 methadone-related deaths in
Oshawa over the past year, a coroner's jury heard last month during
the inquest that those numbers are only raw data and require further
study to determine if methadone even played a role.

Coun. Parkes said she still disagrees with the method of delivery at
big clinics like First Step and pointed to the inquest's 46
recommendations for tighter guidelines.

"Methadone treatment has its place and I think that should be in a
hospital or an interim health-care facility," she added.

Mr. Lorusso has said he's willing to relocate provided the City
reimburses him for some of the lease hold improvements he's made to
his downtown site. Both sides say they haven't spoken directly to one
another about the idea, not wanting to prejudice the OMB ruling on
costs.

"But I'm not going to go where they would love to have me, which is an
industrial area, away from everyone," Mr. Lorusso added.